How To Play The Deck
The key to winning with the Pikarom deck is getting three energy cards on your Pikachu and Zekrom GX as fast as possible. Doing this allows it to use Full Blitz to do damage and get more energy cards on your Pokémon.
You can do this in several ways. If you dont start with Pikarom in your hand, you can search for it with Quick Balls, Electromagnetic Radar, or another fetch supporter card. If you dont have any of these, you can try to fetch them with Jirachi if you start with that.
To get energy cards, you can attach one each turn if you have them, or use Boltund V to get them quickly if you have that. If you dont, try to get supporter cards like Professors research to find them.
Once you have your Pikarom with three energy, you need to get it on the board and use Full Blitz. Here, you will have to decide whether to attach three more energy to it to use Tag Bolt GX or if you want to attach the energy to a Pokémon on your bench. Generally, its best to try to go for Tag Bolt GX, but if you think your opponent will KO you, you want to get it on a bench Pokémon, ideally a second copy of Pikarom.
If you cant find your core cards, you should also have Vikavolt V, Boltund V, or Mew and Mewtwo GX in the deck that also serve as valuable attackers. This deck is fairly easy to play and has a lot of options, so be sure to take advantage of it while you can!
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Raichu & Alolan Raichu
Another Tag Team Pokemon, Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX can take advantage of other cards like Switch. This is thanks to its Tandem Shock attack, which causes it to do 160 damage if it was on the Bench when the turn started. It will also Paralyze the opposing Active Pokemon, which completely shuts it down for a turn.
Its GX move Lightning Ride GX, will switch Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX with one of your Benched Pokemon. It has a respectable 150 damage, and if it has two extra Energy attached to it the damage gets boosted to a fantastic 250.
Even More Energy Efficiency
Thunder Mountain and Max Elixir are absolute game-changers in Pokemon TCG Online. You can see Thunder Mountains 1-Energy discount in use in the previous screenshot, but heres what Max Elixir can really do:
Max Elixir makes it possible for PikaRom to get a handful of Energy in play easily on your first turn.
In case you end up with an Energy on something like a Crobat that doesnt need it, Energy Switch can help you balance it around later. You can also use it to move Energy onto your Tag Team Pokemon, both of which have GX attacks that deal extra damage if you put more Energy on them.
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Blacephalon / Whimsicott Deck
Our last deck this week proves that Fire Type decks will continue to be a threat for the foreseeable future. Let’s take a look at the deck.
With its Fireball Circus attack, Blacephalon UNB 32 has the capability to Knock Out any opposing Active Pokemon in one hit. The catch is that you’ll need to make sure you have a handful of Fire Energy 2 that you can discard. In order to make sure you have enough Fire Energy 2 in hand to get the job done, you can use Whimsicott UNM 144‘s Prowl Ability to help you with this. This Ability allows you to search your deck for any one card to put into your hand when you evolve into Whimsicott UNM 144. By using Scoop Up Net RCL 165, you’ll be able to repeatedly evolve into Whimsicott UNM 144 multiple times, offering you more opportunities to find Fire Energy 2, or any other card you might need at the time.
You’ll need to swap out three different cards in order to make this deck Standard-legal. The first change I’ll make is to exchange Blacephalon-GX LOT 52 for a copy of Talonflame V VIV 29. Thanks to Talonflame V VIV 29‘s Fast Flight attack, you’ll have the potential to draw a new hand of six cards, offering you a chance of drawing the Fire Energy 2 you need. Next, I will swap the three copies of Fiery Flint DRM 60 for an equal amount of Energy Spinner UNB 170. Finally, since Heat Factory Prism Star LOT 178 isn’t Standard legal any longer, I would swap it for a copy of Training Court RCL 169.
Pokemon League Battle Deck
Lightning leaps and thunder crashes when you have Pikachu, Zekrom, and Raichu on your side! This fully charged League Battle Deck is loaded with power cards and major Pokémon, all the better to step up your game into the big time. In this complete deck, youll find 3 Pokémon-GX and a full set of supporting accessories to play a Lightning-type blitz the way it should be playedstunningly fast and extra effective!
Contents:
- 1 Ready-to-play 60-card deck, including 3 Pokémon-GX
- 1 Deck box
- 2 Acrylic condition markers and 1 acrylic TAG TEAM GX marker
- 6 Damage-counter dice
- A Quick Guide to unlock the strategies within
- A Pokémon TCG rulebook
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The Tag Team Fighters Of Pikarom
PikaRom and Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX are two of the three heavy-hitters of this deck.
PikaRom can hit for 150 while also powering up your Raichus or Boltund. The Raichus arent the best pick as a starting attacker due to their conditional Tandem Shock attack.
Both of these Tag Teams have a GX attack that can be further powered up using extra Energy. This is where cards like Max Elixir and Energy Switch really shine out. To add to that, the Thunder Mountain Stadium card in this deck lets yo use your Tag Teams attacks for 2 Energy only.
Pikarom Expanded Deck List
PikaRom is stronger, faster, and more consistent in Expanded. Heres an overview of my Expanded PikaRom deck list in Pokemon TCG Online:
Heres what the deck contains:
****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******
##Pokémon 9
* 1 Crobat V DAA 104* 1 Boltund V RCL 67* 2 Dedenne-GX UNB 195* 2 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX PR-SM 168* 1 Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX UNM 54* 1 Tapu Koko TEU 51* 1 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 60
##Trainer Cards 39
* 1 Computer Search BCR 137* 1 Thunder Mountain LOT 191* 3 Trainers Mail ROS 92* 3 Professors Research CPA 62* 4 Quick Ball SSH 179* 2 Ultra Ball FCO 113* 2 Guzma BUS 115* 4 Max Elixir BKP 102* 2 Electromagnetic Radar UNB 169* 1 N FCO 105* 2 Float Stone BKT 137* 1 Muscle Band XY 121* 2 Energy Switch SSH 162* 1 Escape Rope BUS 114* 4 VS Seeker PHF 109* 1 Bosss Orders RCL 154
##Energy 12
* 12 Lightning Energy Energy 4
Total Cards 60
You can add in a second Boltund or a Vikavolt V if you want. Mewtwo & Mew-GX works well too if youre running into too many Fighting-type decks.
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Supporter Fetching And Recycling
Tapu Lele-GX is great for fetching a Supporter from your deck. Its Energy Drive is also a decent attack that can get knockouts on beefy Pokemon using a lot of Energy.
VS Seeker, on the other hand, is great for getting discarded Supporters back. Since a lot of cards in this deck rely on discarding cards , feel free to toss away some Supporters for later.
Pikarom Decks Are Still Top
PikaRom has been in the meta for way too long at this point, and its deck is only evolving further. Pokemon TCG Online hasnt made a lot of viable additions to the Electric metagame for quite some time now, instead adding incredible support Pokemon like Boltund V that only make PikaRom stronger.
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Standard Strategies And Why I Prefer Expanded Pikarom
The Standard deck is much slower than the Expanded one. You cant use Max Elixir, Tapu Lele-GX, Computer Search, VS Seeker, and Electropower in Standard, which takes away a lot of the decks speed and consistency. Instead of having a fast setup, you slow your opponent down in Standard with Crushing Hammers, Marnie, and Chaotic Swell.
Mewtwo & Mew-GX is legal in Expanded as well, but itll often waste your Thunder Mountain because it isnt an Electric type. Its also pretty convenient in general because it can use any of your GXs attacks. Most importantly, it helps a lot in Standard because of all the Coalossal VMAX and Falinks decks that are seeing a lot of play recently, both of which will destroy PikaRom within a few turns.
PikaRom is still winning tournaments and continues to be top-tier in Standard in Pokemon TCG Online, but once you play the Expanded version, the Standard deck feels like a clear downgrade.
Its surprising to see a deck stay around for such a long time without being absolutely broken. I hope TPC doesnt ban some of these cards from Expanded, because PikaRom is an absolute blast to play with.
Great In Any Year Pikachu And Zekrom
Hello everyone! After over a month and a half since the release of Vivid Voltage, it is looking more and more like the set has been a dud as far as introducing new archetypes into the metagame. The most-played decks and top cut results are the same as the Darkness Ablaze Standard meta. Whats more, only a few cards from Vivid Voltage are in any of those decks. Despite the best efforts of some of the more creative players, almost none of the Vivid Voltage archetypes have managed to see sustained competitive success in Standard, nor have they been adopted by any sizable component of the player base. While a few cards such as Jirachi, Leon, and Coating Metal Energy have found their way into existing archetypes for the most part, our current Standard format is a continuation of the TEU-DAA format weve had since August. The unfortunate part of this is that the Standard format has begun to feel somewhat stale, despite the deck diversity at the top of the metagame.
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Sun & Moonteam Up Deck Tips: Pikachu & Zekrom
Pikachu & Zekrom-GX was the first TAG TEAM to be revealed, back at the 2018 World Championships inAugust, and it’s proven to be a card worthy of the spotlight. This pairing hasmade a thunderous entrance into Pokémon TCG tournaments, quickly becoming thecenterpiece of one of the most successful decks in the Standard format.
This TAG TEAM’s strength is its powerful attacks, aided by thesupport of some useful Trainer cards that synergize specifically with Lightning-typePokémon. Its first attack, Full Blitz, does 150 damage and lets you search yourdeck for up to three Lightning Energy cards and attach them to one of yourPokémon. The extra Energy will come in handy, because for six Lightning Energy,Tag Bolt-GX can do 200 damage to theopponent’s Active Pokémon plus 170 to a Benched Pokémon.
With such potent attacks at the star’s disposal, the main goal ofthis deck is straightforward: get enough Energy on Pikachu & Zekrom-GX to start attacking as quickly aspossible and blow your foe away before they can execute their own strategy.
- Pikachu & Zekrom-GX
This deck was used by Lucas Henrique de Araujo Pereira at theOceania International Championships, where he finished in the Top 8. Many ofthe cards in this deck have been selected to help get Pikachu & Zekrom-GX going as quickly as possible,potentially even on the first or second turn of the game.
Pikarom Standard Deck List
Heres an overview of my Standard PikaRom deck:
Heres what this deck contains:
****** Pokémon Trading Card Game Deck List ******
##Pokémon 13
* 1 Crobat V DAA 104* 1 Eldegoss V RCL 19* 2 Boltund V RCL 67* 2 Dedenne-GX UNB 195* 2 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX PR-SM 168* 1 Raichu & Alolan Raichu-GX UNM 54* 1 Tapu Koko TEU 51* 1 Vikavolt V DAA 60* 2 Mewtwo & Mew-GX UNM 71
##Trainer Cards 34
* 3 Cherish Ball UNM 191* 1 Chaotic Swell CEC 187* 2 Reset Stamp UNM 206* 4 Quick Ball SSH 179* 1 Big Charm SSH 158* 1 Air Balloon SSH 156* 2 Electromagnetic Radar UNB 169* 4 Crushing Hammer SUM 115* 4 Professors Research CPA 62* 3 Marnie CPA 56* 2 Energy Switch SSH 162* 3 Bosss Orders RCL 154* 4 Switch SSH 183
* 10 Lightning Energy Energy 4* 3 Speed Lightning Energy RCL 173
Total Cards 60
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Standard Pikarom Deck With Mewtwo & Mew
With the introduction of Coalossal VMAX decks in Vivid Voltage, PikaRom had to find a way to adjust, due to its Fighting-type weakness.
In recent tournaments, the deck has further evolved with the inclusion of Mewtwo & Mew-GX, that can use the attacks of any Pokemon in your discard pile or on your Bench.
Since this card isnt weak to Fighting types, it allows you to use the same attacks of any of your other Pokemon but without having a disadvantage against decks like Coalossal. Ive also added Vikavolt V to this deck because of Paralyzing Bolt, which can be useful in Standard.
Inteleon Vmax / Frosmoth Deck
The first deck I have for you this week features Inteleon VMAX RCL 50 and attempts to slow things down for your opponent. Let’s take a look at the deck.
Thanks to Inteleon VMAX RCL 50‘s Hydro Snipe attack, you’ll be able to deal a little damage to your opponent’s Active Pokemon in addition to returning an Energy attached to that Pokemon to your opponent’s hand. That can slow things down for your opponent, as they will be forced to decide whether to replay the Energy to their Active Pokemon or to start building up one of their Benched Pokemon instead. As a backup attacker, you have Suicune DAA 37. Its Aurora Loop attack can deal 130 damage, but also requires you to put two Water Energy 3 attached to Suicune DAA 37 back into your hand. You’ll be able to make up for this momentum sapper with the help of Frosmoth SSH 64‘s Ice Dance Ability.
In order to make this deck Standard legal, there are a couple of cards that will need to be replaced. Since Adventure Bag LOT 167 and Escape Board UPR 122 are no longer Standard legal in America, they’ll need to be replaced. My suggestion is to replace them with a pair of Scoop Up Net RCL 165. By using Scoop Up Net RCL 165, you’ll be able to return Jirachi TEU 99 to your hand after using it’s Stellar Wish Ability.
Here’s my version of this deck with changes made to make it Standard-legal.
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Damage Boosters And Bench
Electropower has won me plenty of matches with its +30 damage. This usually helps me take Boltund Vs attack to just the right number that can get me a KO.
Electromagnetic Radar is great for fetching your PikaRom, Raichus, and even your Dedenne-GX. Its also great for discarding Energies that you can later fetch with your Tapu Koko.
Trainers Mail is as important as Max Elixir in this deck, allowing you to quickly fetch Trainers from the top 4 cards of your deck.